High cholesterol has no signs or symptoms, so the only way to know if you have it is to get your cholesterol checked. Talk to your health care team about how you can manage your cholesterol levels and lower your risk.

By living a healthy lifestyle, you can help keep your cholesterol in a healthy range and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.

• Make healthy eating choices: Your body makes all of the cholesterol it needs, so you do not need to obtain cholesterol through foods. Eating lots of foods high in saturated fat and trans fat may contribute to high cholesterol and related conditions, such as heart disease.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Overweight and obesity raise levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Excess body fat affects how your body uses cholesterol and slows down your body’s ability to remove LDL cholesterol from your blood. The combination raises your risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Get regular physical activity: Physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
• Quit smoking: Smoking damages your blood vessels, speeds up the hardening of the arteries, and greatly increases your risk for heart disease. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for heart disease.
• Limit alcohol: Too much alcohol can raise cholesterol levels and the levels of triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood.

High cholesterol is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease. 

That can include:

• coronary heart disease
• stroke
• peripheral vascular disease

High cholesterol has also been linked to diabetes and high blood pressure. To prevent or manage these conditions, work with your doctor to see what steps you need to take to lower your cholesterol